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You've got to be kidding right? I've had the Nomad since launch day and no recording I've downloaded from my Nomad has even come close to approaching the quality you describe when viewed on my iPad at 2x. It's also never been an issue of a poorly recorded program. It's not exactly hard to play the same program still on my DIRECTV HD DVR to confirm if there's an issue with the recording. Also, I stopped watching SD content years ago and that even includes SD content carried on HD channels. That being said, I'm still glad I purchased the Nomad and still recommend it for what it does. I use the Nomad to ingest content on-the-go that otherwise I would only be able to enjoy at home. It does this well, but I've never considered it a quality viewing experience on the iPad at 2x or on the PC for that matter which is even worse. Perhaps I'm the only one, but to me the Nomad was clearly only intended for viewing on the iPhone due to the small size of the screen. Seriously. Why would anyone not welcome what I suggested in my earlier reply? You select a program to prepare. You're then given the option to transcode the program at the current quality (medium) or to transcode the program at twice the quality (high) which would be far more suitable for viewing on larger displays such as the iPad at 2x or on the PC. Having such an option only enhances the product. So instead of offering up opinions on my idea I get replies that completely ignore the premise, because the Nomad already does such a great job. I just don't get it.

No, I'm not kidding at all. I stand by my statement that the PQ on iPads (I've had the original, and now the 2 and 3 versions) is as good or better than any other video source - whether downloaded or streamed.

I've got several movies and concerts that I've either ripped via DVDFab or burned to my DVD recorder - connected via component and then ripped and transferred to the iPad and played in GoodReader or lots streamed via Air Video and nomad beats most or matches either. That includes some 1080p movies converted or streamed via AirVideo.

No, I'm not kidding at all. I stand by my statement that the PQ on iPads (I've had the original, and now the 2 and 3 versions) is as good or better than any other video source - whether downloaded or streamed.

I've got several movies and concerts that I've either ripped via DVDFab or burned to my DVD recorder - connected via component and then ripped and transferred to the iPad and played in GoodReader or lots streamed via Air Video and nomad beats most or matches either. That includes some 1080p movies converted or streamed via AirVideo.

And again, I say you must be seeing something totally different than I am. I too have a 3rd Gen iPad (64GB Verizon LTE model if you care to know). The video quality in the DirecTV Nomad app, and with DriecTV recordings I would probably put on par with stuff from HBO-Go, Max-Go, and and the live streaming channels from DirecTV using WiFi at the various places I have tried it. However it doesn't come close to Digital Copy movies I have transferred from disk, or dowloaded from iTunes, or for that matter DVD movies I have transcoded using CloneDVD Mobile. While it doesn't upset me, I can't agree with your statement that they are equal in quality.

Have you tried a movie downloaded from iTunes, or a Digital Copy that came with a purchased movie? Have you tried different settings in DVDFab? I'm thinking you just haven't seen how good some videos can look on the iPad or else you wouldn't think that the Nomad videos are anywhere near as good.

Sometimes when I reflect back on all the beer I drink I feel ashamed. Then I look into the glass and think about the workers in the brewery and all of their hopes and dreams. If I didn’t drink this beer, they might be out of work and their dreams would be shattered. Then I say to myself, "It is better that I drink this beer and let their dreams come true than be selfish and worry about my liver."
-by Jack Handy

Yes, 1080p direct download looks great, and I'm not sure what you expect from a 10" screen 18 inches from your eyes.

Back to the original complaint, I've never seen the macro / pixelation in a nomad copy that he described unless it was in the original.

So happy for you. What's your point exactly? Doesn't change the fact I do see macro / pixelation in "every" nomad copy no matter what I'm viewing it on. Has nothing to do with the original recording. It's tolerable on my iPhone 4 due to the small size of the screen, but still clearly visible. At 2x on my iPad 3 it's just horrible, even from a few feet away. The issue also has nothing to due with the resolution or the fact I'm viewing the content on a small screen from only a foot or two away. It's how the Nomad is preparing the content. It does a crap job "in my opinion", bottom line. It sacrifices way too much on the quality side in favor of the resulting filesize. I can rip DVD's at 480p with Handbrake to my iPad3/iPhone4 and there's not an ounce of macro / pixelation to be seen. Picture quality is fantastic. In fact, due to the size of the screen I don't even bother with HD video on the iPad. That being said, whether you agree with me or not that doesn't change "my viewing experience" and clearly at least one other forum member here has taken the time to chime in and agree with me. There are also a number of posts on DIRECTV's forums from Nomad users that share my opinion. Also, my original and subsequent replies were far more than just complaints. I went out of my way to make it known that even though I'm not satisified with the video quality on the iPad at 2x or on the PC that I still don't regret purchasing the Nomad and recommend it for what it does, but would simply like to see an option to prepare a given program at a higher quality. If it takes up twice the space and takes longer to prepare so be it. It would be an "option". There's no downside, so long as it's an option. You choose a program to prepare and you're prompted to prepare at "medium" or "high" quality. There would also need to be a quality settings option for programs that are prepared automatically. It's not rocket science. There's also no reason technically why my suggestion could not be implemented. TiVo's version of the Nomad offers this exact functionality and even lets you stream recorded content to mobile devices which is something I'd love to be able to do as using the DIRECTV2PC app is rarely convenient for me. Unfortunately the TiVo Stream doesn't support the DIRECTV TiVo and here at the house DIRECTV is my only option. No one provides service to my home from the street. Live in Amish country. :-(

I am very happy with Nomad on the latest iPad. HD would be nice but not necessary for me. With over 20 hours of movies stored, I'd probably run out of memory in HD. This beats paying iTunes for movies as its free after the hardware cost. Or I could be paying an airline $8 for a 3 hour flight to watch their little smudged screen. Compare the one time cost of what you get vs all the other alternatives and for some apps the extra work required, I think it's a great deal.

I have to say, I am not impressed as of yet.
When I opened the box and plugged it in the Nomad client on my Win7 x64 laptop started acting like a random error generator. I got errors saying that it couldn't find the Nomad, that I didn't have an internet connection, and that it couldn't activate.
Once I got past those I selected a couple of shows to transfer and even though one one started to transfer they now all say 'waiting to prepare'.

Is anyone watching recordings off the same DVR you are trying to get the Nomad to copy programs off of? For example if all of your recordings are on the DVR in the living room, and someone is watching a recording in your bedroom, then the DVR is busy streaming out the recording to the bedroom, and it can't stream to the Nomad at the same time so the Nomad has to wait.

Sometimes when I reflect back on all the beer I drink I feel ashamed. Then I look into the glass and think about the workers in the brewery and all of their hopes and dreams. If I didn’t drink this beer, they might be out of work and their dreams would be shattered. Then I say to myself, "It is better that I drink this beer and let their dreams come true than be selfish and worry about my liver."
-by Jack Handy

Is anyone watching recordings off the same DVR you are trying to get the Nomad to copy programs off of? For example if all of your recordings are on the DVR in the living room, and someone is watching a recording in your bedroom, then the DVR is busy streaming out the recording to the bedroom, and it can't stream to the Nomad at the same time so the Nomad has to wait.

All receivers are turned off except for the DVR that I am trying to copy from.

I am running a new MacBook Pro with Mac OS 10.8.2 (Mountain Lion). When I install Nomad, there is no window visible at all. I have read that the Nomad software doesn't work properly with Mac OS 10.8.2, but no one else has said that they get no window. The issues others have seen seem to be around the video not working properly.

For me, the application doesn't work at all. It doesn't even try to find my Nomad on the network.

I recently upgraded from another MacBook Pro that was also running 10.8.2. That one has no issue bringing up the Nomad window.

I am running a new MacBook Pro with Mac OS 10.8.2 (Mountain Lion). When I install Nomad, there is no window visible at all. I have read that the Nomad software doesn't work properly with Mac OS 10.8.2, but no one else has said that they get no window. The issues others have seen seem to be around the video not working properly.

For me, the application doesn't work at all. It doesn't even try to find my Nomad on the network.

I recently upgraded from another MacBook Pro that was also running 10.8.2. That one has no issue bringing up the Nomad window.

Is the issue related to the retina display in my new MacBook Pro?

Almost certainly not. I am running latest ML and it works fine, though it's a newish MBAir.

I'd delete all the files associated with nomad on the Mac and reinstall.

I downloaded several movies and one copy of "The Daily Show" to my iPhone for a recent road trip. The audio on all movies sounded as if it were missing the center channel for all dialogue. It rendered all of the movies as un"hearable". Even when connected to a TV, the audio sounds like an echo of the actual dialoge. On The Daily Show, all audio was present with the exception of a few commercials where the audio sounded the same as the movies. I believe there is an issue converting items from Dolby 5.1 down to something the iPhone could use.

Maybe my problem is that I don't have this folder! Even with a clean installation, none of these exist on my machine. I'll check my old machine and, if it has these files, I may try copying them over. Thanks again.

Unfortunately, neither my working older MacBook Pro nor my non-working new MacBook Pro have any folders there or anywhere else with Nomad files as far as I can tell. Both machines are running Mountain Lion.

I have searched for 'Nomad' and 'Nomad+Prod' on both Macs, with no luck.

They'd be in your User file. Hold down the Option key in Finder on menu item "Go". Normal searches don't turn up stuff in the User Library, and it was hidden a few revisions back. And it may not be the same name as I have exactly; sorry for any goose chase.